Various systems and assemblies exist for covering a shower stall region with a flexible shower curtain to prevent shower water from ending up on the floor of the bathroom. A conventional shower stall or tub region is generally not very large. Thus, a common issue for many bathers occurs when the flexible shower curtain is drawn in toward the bather due to a pressure differential across the shower curtain. This problem occurs because the hot water in the shower heats up the air in the tub region. As the hot air rises, a partial vacuum is created inside the tub region, which results in a pressure differential over the shower curtain, where the pressure on the inside of the curtain is lower than the pressure on the outside of the curtain, thus creating a net force that urges the shower curtain inward toward the bather.
For many reasons, bathers prefer not to have the shower curtain intrude on their bathing space, which includes the bather coming into contact with the inside surface of the shower curtain. For some, one reason may be the cleanliness of the shower curtain, especially in a hotel setting. For others, one reason may be the decreased space to maneuver in the shower.
In an attempt to maintain the shower curtain in a spaced apart relationship with respect to the bather and to create more room in the conventional shower stall or tub region, many designs, such as the design disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,504 to Cellini have focused on curved or bowed shower rods. Conventional designs utilize a free hanging shower curtain, while some more recent designs disclose intermediate, horizontal rods (U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,531 to Perrotta) or semi-rigid, curved, vertically-oriented ribs (U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,504 to Steiner) to insure that the shower curtain does not get drawn into the showering region during bathing. In these designs, the shower curtain and/or ribs are coupled to the shower rod with circular or oval-shaped shower rings. One drawback of these designs and other known shower systems utilizing flexible shower curtains is that shower rings are in simple, direct, sliding contact with the shower rod. This simple, direct contact may result in a high friction engagement between the shower rod and the shower rings, which over time causes the shower curtain to weaken and eventually tear in the vicinity of the rings.
Steiner attempts to address the problem of the shower curtain rotating inward toward the bather by employing weights, rib hooks that engage the side of the tub, or rib ends that engage a separate rod located just above the side of the tub. However, these solutions are more complicated both in terms of installation and operation and additional load is still transferred to the shower curtain, which again may eventually lead to tearing of the shower curtain near the shower rings.
In view of the aforementioned shower covering systems, a need exists for an efficient and inexpensive shower curtain-rod assembly that facilitates transverse sliding of the curtain when opening and closing the same, and which also prevents the shower curtain itself from rotating inward toward the bather. A further need arises for a shower curtain that resists tearing.